It was pretty much over shortly after it began: the Cardinals took advantage of some sloppy Reds defense and center fielder Dylan Carlson—picking up where he left off at the end of last season—homered off Reds’ ace Luis Castillo in the first to put the Cardinals up big, and they never looked back. Jack Flaherty could have cruised to an easy “W,” but he was unable to make it through the fifth inning, allowing all 6 of the Reds’ runs in just 4-1/3 innings. Giovanny Gallegos (8th inning) and Alex Reyes (9th) looked sharp in nailing down the victory, with Reyes keeping hitters off balance with a number of nice off-speed pitches.

The Reds’ best opportunity to still make a game of it came in the fifth, after Flaherty exited with one out, the bases loaded, and a run already in. Lefthander Tyler Webb relieved to face slugger Mike Moustakes, allowing a sac fly to close the gap to 11-6, and then retired pinch-hitter Aristedes Aquino on a foul pop to end the threat.

Paul Goldschmidt had two singles and two doubles to lead a balanced attack, with newcomer Nolan Arenado chipping in a couple of singles and an RBI in his Cardinals’ debut. Left fielder Tyler O’Neill added a two-run homer in the fourth as the Cardinals’ much-maligned outfield bats were the only ones to go deep for the visiting nine.